2013 Nissan Versa

3 Defect Investigations from the NHTSA

NHTSA Defect Investigations for the 2013 Nissan Versa

The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) is an office within the NHTSA which investigates serious safety problems in the design, construction or performance of vehicles.
The NHTSA is authorized to order manufacturers to recall and repair vehicles, if the ODI finds a safety issue.
NHTSA investigations for the 2013 Nissan Versa, both ongoing and closed, are listed below:

Summary: On June 24, 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-018 to investigate allegations that the tunnel carpet cover trim panel on model year (MY) 2012 through 2014 Nissan Versa, Versa Sedan and Versa Note vehicles has, in certain situations, interfered with the driver's ability to promptly release the accelerator pedal and transition to the brake pedal. This may result in delayed brake application or brief incidents of unwanted acceleration.At the opening of PE14-018, ODI had identified one complaint, VOQ 10597004, alleging that the driver's foot became caught by the subject trim panel to the extent that the driver decided that it was necessary to pull on their leg to get the foot free of the interference, almost causing a crash. The trim panel in question (Figure 1) is located next to the accelerator pedal and the lower corner is positioned such that it is near the right outer edge of the driver's shoe. The complainant supplied a photograph (Figure 2) showing how the edge of the panel wedged itself in the driver's shoe.An additional complainant, 10573057, alleged that when attempting to remove their foot from the accelerator pedal to apply the brake, their shoe was caught by the trim panel which delayed braking ability several times. During the investigation ODI received a VOQ, 10614957, that alleged that the driver's foot was interfered with by the trim panel, delaying the driver's ability to apply the brakes, resulting in a crash and minor injuries to the driver.In addition, during PE14-018, ODI has received VOQs alleging that the HVAC relay actuator/duct, (Figures 3 and 4) can also interfere with the driver's ability to react quickly to apply the brakes, which has been added to the scope of Engineering Analysis EA15-003. MY 2015 Versa Sedan and Note vehicles have been added to EA15-003 as they are believed to have the same panel design and actuator/duct placement as the subject vehicles.MY 2012 vehicles were found to be of a different design and not included in the scope of EA15-003.This Preliminary Evaluation PE14-018 is hereby closed and upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA15-003.

Summary: On August 11, 2015, Nissan North America, Inc., submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) describing a condition that may impede the driver's ability to transition quickly and smoothly from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal in certain model year (MY) 2012 through 2015 Nissan Versa Sedans and MY 2014 through 2015 Nissan Versa Note vehicles (NHTSA Recall No. 15V-507).According to Nissan's DIR, in certain circumstances related to driver foot position and shoe type, the right edge of the driver-€™s shoe may catch the edge of the center console lower trim panel.Nissan indicated that "this condition could cause a slight delay in the smooth transition between the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal which may increase the braking distance; therefore increasing the risk of a crash."Nissan's recall instructs dealers to trim the console panel so that the leading edge is at a greater distance from the driver-€™s foot.Nissan had previously issued a service campaign (Nissan Campaign ID #P5308; TSB #NTB15-033) on April 16, 2015, to provide the remedy for the same set of vehicles before deciding to change the program to a safety recall.Of the approximately 421,305 vehicles covered by recall 15V-507, approximately 122,558 have already been repaired under the service campaign. ODI's investigation also examined allegations that an HVAC duct in the driver's footwell area may interfere with the driver's right foot in certain circumstances.ODI's analysis of all complaints related to foot obstructions in the subject vehicles identified 45 complaints, 7 crashes and 1 minor soft tissue injury.Thirty-five (35) of the complaints, all 7 crashes and the only injury were caused by the trim panel condition which is the subject of the recall.ODI will continue to monitor complaints related to the HVAC duct condition.This investigation is closed based on Nissan's recall.The VOQs associated with the closing of this investigation are: 10725339, 10723544, 10711794, 10691631, 10649259, 10640644, 10629161, 10614957, 10610356, 10606832, 10606766, 10606670, 10597004, 10573057, 10503811, and 10498000.

Summary: On May 20, 2014, ODI opened PE14-014 based on eight complaints alleging incidents of excessive brake pedal travel in model year (MY) 2013 through 2014 Nissan Sentra, Versa Sedan and Versa Note passenger cars (Figure 1) and information in Early Warning Reporting field reports indicating issues with master cylinder internal seals.In response to an information request letter sent by ODI, Nissan identified a condition with the master cylinder in early production subject vehicles that could result in a slow internal leak past one of the recuperating seals to the brake reservoir when the brake pedal is depressed very slowly or lightly (Figure 2).The subject vehicles are equipped with fixed seal master cylinders supplied by TRW.To address concerns with water hammer noise with the standard seal design, the master cylinders in the early production subject vehicles used AWH (anti-water hammer) seals.The AWH seals are sensitive to contamination from assembly plant cleanliness issues, which can produce the internal leak condition during slow or light brake applies but perform as designed with normal or emergency brake applications.TRW indicated that the risk of contamination interacting with the subject seals is greatest after the evacuation and pressure fill process used to fill the brake system during the manufacturing process (early life issue).TRW developed a new master cylinder seal design (EVO seal) that addresses the noise concern and eliminates the internal leak concern associated with contamination by providing a secondary seal (Figure 3).Nissan implemented the new master cylinder design in vehicle production on September 23, 2013.ODI's analysis shows that the master cylinder warranty claim rate is much higher in vehicles produced before the change (Figure 4).Statistical analysis showed that the condition is an early-life problem with relatively low failure rates projected through 100,000 miles and approximately 58 percent of the failures projected to occur by that mileage have already occurred (Table 1).Warranty claims are highest (78% of claims) in vehicles with less than 10,000 miles (Figure 5) and 50 percent of claims involved vehicles with less than 90 days in service (Figure 6).ODI evaluated 22 crash claims that included allegations of master cylinder failure, sinking brake pedal or pedal to the floor (Table 2).The analysis identified only three crashes in which a brake performance issue related to the master cylinder was duplicated by post-incident inspection, including one with a different problem than the seal leak issue (a broken plunger).The two crash complaints related to a possible master cylinder concern involved 1 vehicle with the AWH seal and 1 with the EVO seal.Both were minor crashes.The remaining crashes do not appear to be related to any issues with the master cylinder or other brake system fault.In the 4 crashes with Event Data Recorderinformation available, the data indicated that the brakes were applied too late to avoid the collisions.These include 2 crashes with less than a half second of braking before impact and 2 in which brake applications lasting 1.0 to 2.5 seconds resulted in high decelerations consistent with fully functioning brake systems, but too late to avoid the collision.Overall, the rates of crashes adjusted for vehicle exposure (total vehicle years in service) do not show any correlation to the high warranty rates associated with the AWH seal leak concern (Table 3 & Figure 7).Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect and take further action in the future if warranted.

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